STANFORD, Calif. – Alanna Smith became the 26th Stanford player to hear her name called in the WNBA Draft when the Phoenix Mercury selected the forward with the eighth overall pick on Wednesday night at Nike NYHQ in New York. Smith is the program's 12th first-round selection and first since Chiney Ogwumike went No. 1 overall to the Connecticut Sun in 2014.
The 12th All-American in program history, Smith had a superb senior season in which she shot 51.5 percent from the field, 39.7 percent from behind the arc and averaged a team-high 19.4 points per game to go with 8.6 rebounds and 2.2 blocks. She was one of two players in the country to average 19.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game this season and her numbers were even better in conference. She put up 20.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.9 blocks in 18 Pac-12 games and was one of just two nationally to have those averages in league action.
Smith, the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the year and an academic All-American, led Stanford to its 13th Pac-12 Tournament title with a 64-57 win over Oregon in Las Vegas on March 10. She was named the tournament's most outstanding player after posting double-doubles in each of the Cardinal's three wins and averaging 18.7 points and 12.3 rebounds.
The 6-foot-4 forward finished her career 10th in school history in scoring (1,703) and second in blocks (225) and made 155 career 3-pointers. She is just the fourth NCAA women's basketball player over the past 20 years to put together a career of 1,600 points, 150 made triples and 200 blocks. Since 1999-00, the only others to do that are Elena Delle Donne (3,039 points; 206 3-pointers; 273 blocks), Maya Moore (3,036 points; 311 3-pointers; 204 blocks) and Breanna Stewart (2,676 points; 152 3-pointers; 414 blocks).
Smith, who had 81 triples, 78 blocks and 699 points is the only NCAA women's basketball player to accumulate 70 3-pointers, 70 blocks and 600 points in a season in the last 20 years. It has been done once on the men's side during that span, by Shane Battier for Duke in 2000-01 (124 3-pointers; 88 blocks; 778 points).
Her 81 made 3-pointers are the second most for a player her height over the past 20 seasons. This season she was 34th in the country in scoring (19.4) and 33rd in blocks per game (2.17), the only player in the NCAA in the top 40 in both categories.
Smith's 78 rejections this year are second in Stanford history behind Jayne Appel's 84 in 2007-08, her 81 made 3-pointers are tied for eighth and her 699 points are eighth.
She is just the fourth player in program history to earn both All-America and academic All-America honors, joining Chiney Ogwumike, Kristin Folkl and Kate Starbird.
Since the WNBA's inaugural season (1997), 29 former Stanford players have appeared in a regular-season game and seven players have won a combined eight WNBA championships.